The Hall Effect is commonly used in the sensing element of current sensors. Additionally but less commonly, the anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) and the giant magnetoresistance (GMR) effects are also used in the sensing elements of current sensors. What these effects have in common is they can be used to build a magnetic sensor in order to measure the magnetic field generated by a current flowing through a conductor, which is proportional to the value of the current flowing through the conductor.
Because the sensitivity of Hall elements is very low, when Hall elements are used in current sensors, a magnetic flux concentrator is usually used to amplify the magnetic field, in order to increase the sensitivity of the Hall sensor. Unfortunately this increases the size and weight of the current sensor, and it degrades linearity. Additionally, Hall sensors have high power consumption, which is undesirable. Although AMR sensors have much higher sensitivity than Hall sensors, AMR sensors have narrower linear range, and they require a set/reset coil, resulting in manufacturing process complexity, increased size, and increased power consumption. GMR sensors also have higher sensitivity than Hall sensors, but the linear range is also narrow.
Magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJ) are beginning to find application as magnetoresistive sensors for industrial applications. They use the tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) effect of a multilayered magnetic material stack to sense the magnitude and direction of a magnetic field, with significantly larger sensitivity than AMR, Hall, and GMR sensors, while also providing better temperature stability. Thus a current sensor utilizing MTJ sensing elements provides improved temperature stability, higher sensitivity, lower power consumption, and better linearity than a Hall effect based current sensor with no additional magnetic flux concentrator structure; compared to AMR current sensors it provides improved temperature stability, higher sensitivity, wider linear range without additional set/reset coil structure; and, compared to GMR based current sensors, it provides better temperature stability, higher sensitivity, lower power consumption, and wider linear range.
Although temperature characteristics of a TMR based current sensor are superior to Hall Effect, AMR, and GMR based current sensors, temperature compensation is still necessary for high accuracy.